Had a whole lot of credit available on one of these discount voucher sites ... so instead of allowing it to expire, I found a 2 night stay at a guest house in Hartbeespoort dam. We didn't need to pack tents or sleeping bags, so the TW travelled light while Hardy's Honda had to carry all the luggage in his new Dakar soft panniers.
Since I still wasn't safe for traffic-riding, we decided to take the Friday off and wait for traffic to calm down before venturing on the still-busy roads.
Stopped for melktert at Tan' Malie se winkel. The Braairestaurant-idea sounds like something I'll try one day: You pay a fixed amount per head for salads, cutlery and crockery, pap (!) and bread. Buy the meat per cut, and then they provide the hot coals so that you can braai it to your liking. Lovely setting.
Had to go past the dam wall on the way there. Made Hardy go over the dam wall again on Sunday morning before heading back. South Africa's own Arc de Triomphe,
Inside the Harties Arc de Triomphe
Visited local attractions like the Cable car (beautiful views, and cold beer at the top). We found a 'shortcut' back from the cable car to the plaasstal.
The work organised us two full body massages for all the overtime I worked in January. So on the way back we had to detour past Mangwanani. Nice dirt roads - except that I missed the call to warn us of the flooded river crossing.
We walked it first, then Hardy rode through, and once over, guided me through. Had to cross the river again about 2 hours later.
Didn't like the traffic on the tar road past Pelindaba, but Hardy was riding behind me to keep the Sundy afternoon traffic a bit off my tail. The last bit of tar from Lanseria home was long - not used to all the traffic - but a great weekend and a place I'll definitely visit again by bike.
Since I still wasn't safe for traffic-riding, we decided to take the Friday off and wait for traffic to calm down before venturing on the still-busy roads.
Stopped for melktert at Tan' Malie se winkel. The Braairestaurant-idea sounds like something I'll try one day: You pay a fixed amount per head for salads, cutlery and crockery, pap (!) and bread. Buy the meat per cut, and then they provide the hot coals so that you can braai it to your liking. Lovely setting.
Inside the Harties Arc de Triomphe
The place where we stayed provided breakfast, but Nescafe is not coffee - so we ventured over to the Jasmyn Plaasstal and surrounding restaurants for proper coffee Saturday and Sunday morning.
Visited local attractions like the Cable car (beautiful views, and cold beer at the top). We found a 'shortcut' back from the cable car to the plaasstal.
The work organised us two full body massages for all the overtime I worked in January. So on the way back we had to detour past Mangwanani. Nice dirt roads - except that I missed the call to warn us of the flooded river crossing.
We walked it first, then Hardy rode through, and once over, guided me through. Had to cross the river again about 2 hours later.
Didn't like the traffic on the tar road past Pelindaba, but Hardy was riding behind me to keep the Sundy afternoon traffic a bit off my tail. The last bit of tar from Lanseria home was long - not used to all the traffic - but a great weekend and a place I'll definitely visit again by bike.
